Takeout Fried Chicken

[SobaAddict70]

So, which is it?

If you have a favorite that's not included in the trio above, what is it?

This thread is not limited to American chains, btw. Our eGullet friends from overseas are most welcome, indeed.

Personally, I prefer KFC Original recipe, extra crispy. I've always found Popeye's to be too salty (hell, their jambalaya is SALT overload) and I have no experience with Roy's.

What are yours?

Soba

[spoonbread]

Honestly, I try not to eat at fast food chains too much, but its unavoidable. If it's a pick, I have to say KFC has flavor, I like it, but Church's Fried Chicken I really like. Tastes very Southern Fried and crispy.

[eunny jang]

I can dig on some Popeye's spicy, but only when the chicken is fresh. There's nothing worse than chicken that's been sitting under a heat lamp for half an hour, the breading flaking off and leaving yellow, greasy skin.

[Mayhaw Man]

Popeye's!

While I will say that it can be a bit salty (their spice mixes for the whole world are made about a mile from where I sit in this huge new plant. You can read about it here) I really like the chicken when I am feeling lazy and don't want to do it myself. (but on the other hand there is a gas station right down the road from my house that actually has PAN FRIED chicken and it is awesome!).

Popeye's red beans are really good (on any scale of measurement-homemade or not). They were developed by Warren LeRuth of LeRuth's (an old mainstay on the West Bank of the RIver across from New Orleans that was closed after he passed). THey are really creamy and have a nice spice to them, perhaps it is because they have lard in them that they are so good.

[Basilgirl]

Wendy's has good fried chicken. Reminds me of Roy's, which are no longer around in Northern Virginia. I like Popeye's chicken strips and KFC's popcorn chicken. Popeye's biscuits, fries, red beans & rice, and ONION RINGS...yum.

[yellow truffle]

I go for the KFC, original recipe. Give me the skin, extra thick breading, make it fatty/greasy, with lots of ketchup on the side. lol No really give it me. lol. The best is when you get the gravy on the side, take the drumstick and dunk it in there. It's okay to double on this one, because you should have your own gravy bowl.

Personally, I prefer KFC Original recipe, extra crispy. I've always found Popeye's to be too salty (hell, their jambalaya is SALT overload) and I have no experience with Roy's.

Hey SobaAddict70, being that you are a Filipino, have you tried Max's chicken from the Philippines. I always thought it was d best.

Edited because it wasn't fatty enough.

Edited March 29, 2004 by yellow truffle (log)

[Busboy]

What Mayhaw man said!

[Toliver]

Okay, before I sidetrack this thread, I'll say KFC original.

That being said, now did anyone else see on FoodTV Tyler Florence's "Ultimate" show on fried chicken? (okay, it's sort of related to the thread title)

He visited a restaurant's kitchen in the Southern US somewhere and the cooks were deep frying chicken in the largest cast iron skillet I have ever seen in my life. It was mammoth.

Anyway, their "trick" was to fry a lot of cut up onions in the oil and leave the onion in there. Then they added the chicken. The pan was deep enough so that the chicken pieces were covered in oil (so it couldn't be called "pan-fried") and oil literally came up to the rim of the pan. Why they didn't get a grease fire from it, I have no idea.

But it was an interesting idea, to flavor the oil with the onions and then to leave the onion in there. The cooks said they just throw out the, by then, burnt onion when they're through cooking the chicken. Why they didn't end up with burnt-onion tasting chicken is beyond me. But Tyler said it was great. It's a mystery....

[mnebergall]

Popeye's!

Popeye's red beans are really good (on any scale of measurement-homemade or not). They were developed by Warren LeRuth of LeRuth's (an old mainstay on the West Bank of the RIver across from New Orleans that was closed after he passed). THey are really creamy and have a nice spice to them, perhaps it is because they have lard in them that they are so good.

On occaision, i will buy a large container of their red beans 'n' rice, hold the rice, take it home, make my own rice, add smoked sausage, and voila.

[SobaAddict70]

Hey SobaAddict70, being that you are a Filipino, have you tried Max's chicken from the Philippines. I always thought it was d best.

Kinda afraid I don't remember Max's.

Refresh my memory pls?

Soba

[FistFullaRoux]

It depends on what I'm looking for. KFC's original recipe is a specific destination for me. Popeye's is close to what I grew up with, so that tended to be my go-to fried chicken place, until a couple of months ago when they made me wait 20 minutes in the drive thru lane, stuck between other cars, and with the curb preventing me from driving around the car in front. But I digress.

It's KFC original when I'm specifically looking for it, but now I usually choose Hardee's, which is (or was) part of the Roy Roger's company (or vice versa), and a very similar restaurant.

[jhlurie]

Roy Rogers still exists? I though the last few dozen of them might be gone by now.

How about Church's? Never had it, but I know there's a bunch of them. Or in the even poorer areas Kennedy Fried Chicken. Kennedy Fried Chicken seems to only be in neighborhoods which scare me.

[Lyle]

Roy Rogers still exists? I though the last few dozen of them might be gone by now.

How about Church's? Never had it, but I know there's a bunch of them. Or in the even poorer areas Kennedy Fried Chicken. Kennedy Fried Chicken seems to only be in neighborhoods which scare me.

How about we avoid the Church's. It's underseasoned, hardly flaky, in fact nearly rubbery, and their sides suck (I try to avoid that word, but in this case it's appropriate). Their only virtue is the jalapeno they serve with every meal. That and the great virtue of serving fried chicken. Am I the only one who enjoys pickled peppers with fried chicken?

Oh, Poppeye's. Yep, it's salty, but it's a hell of alot better than the Church's alternative.

[FistFullaRoux]

Roy Rogers still exists? I though the last few dozen of them might be gone by now.

How about Church's? Never had it, but I know there's a bunch of them. Or in the even poorer areas Kennedy Fried Chicken. Kennedy Fried Chicken seems to only be in neighborhoods which scare me.

Every Church's chicken joint I've ever been to has had really greasy floors in the lobby. That's one difference between the other places and Church's. Greasy floors in the kitchen is one thing. The lobby is a different matter completely.

Although years ago, the one in my home town had these marvelous fried pies. That is a different subject entirely, and us kids were known to request Church's just to get to the pies...

[jhlurie]

Ah... of course this topic gives me the opportunity to bump an older topic as a side discussion... The Pan (Shallow) vs. Deep Fried Chicken Debate topic.

Although I doubt there are any "takeout chains" who do Pan Frying. At best... you'd be limited to finding individual restaurants who do it.

[Fat Guy]

Interesting to see such an outpouring of support for KFC. I see KFC as being at the bottom of the pecking order of the major fried chicken chains. Church's and Roy Rogers are substantially better, in my opinion -- better quality chicken (KFC's chicken is pretty lame) and a more reliable batter -- and Popeye's and Bojangle's are way, way out in front as far as I'm concerned.

[Mayhaw Man]

If you are in the neighborhood-These guys do an awesome job on Fried Chicken and just to keep it on topic-you can get it to go!

[bilrus]

Reminds me of Roy's, which are no longer around in Northern Virginia.

There is still at least one, and I think two, Roy's in Leesburg, VA.

[bilrus]

I am definitely a Popeye's man myself - although I have this strange thing that I don't like eating chicken on the bone. Roasted, fried, buffalo, tandoori, whatever - it just grosses me out for some reason.

That said, Popeye's chicken strips are probably my favorite dish in fast-food land and their mashed potatoes, red beans and rice and cajun rice are all quite good.

And during Lent, they carry a pretty good fish filet and shrimp basket too.

[JSD]

How about Church's?  Never had it, but I know there's a bunch of them.  Or in the even poorer areas Kennedy Fried Chicken.  Kennedy Fried Chicken seems to only be in neighborhoods which scare me. 

We used to get take out regularly from a Church's that was near our house. Unfortunately, there was a multiple murder there DURING BUSINESS HOURS and we wouldn't go back...

[Lyle]

Roy Rogers still exists?  I though the last few dozen of them might be gone by now.

How about Church's?  Never had it, but I know there's a bunch of them.  Or in the even poorer areas Kennedy Fried Chicken.  Kennedy Fried Chicken seems to only be in neighborhoods which scare me. 

How about we avoid the Church's. It's underseasoned, hardly flaky, in fact nearly rubbery, and their sides suck (I try to avoid that word, but in this case it's appropriate). Their only virtue is the jalapeno they serve with every meal. That and the great virtue of serving fried chicken. Am I the only one who enjoys pickled peppers with fried chicken?

Oh, Poppeye's. Yep, it's salty, but it's a hell of alot better than the Church's alternative.

I am withdrawing what I said about Church's chicken. I was confusing it with a local chain, Brother's. I do still believe both serve peppers with their chicken, but I haven't eaten at Church's in about five years and that was at an off hour.

[yellow truffle]

Kinda afraid I don't remember Max's. Refresh my memory pls?

Started by a Stanford-educated teacher, in 1945, who made a special recipe chicken for the G.I.'s, this tender, juicy and crispy chicken, Max's was soon to be one of the first and longest franchises in the Philippines. Later it picked up the slogan, The House That Fried Chicken Built.

I remember having this growing up and it tasting very good. My parents raved about this place to. Back then, I believe the chickens were purchased from the local farms. It was prepared rather simply. No batter, but I am sure that they marinate the chicken overnight in a special sauce (it's a Filipino thing). The nice thing about Max's, is that they have other non-chicken items on the menu. Worth taking a look at if you are curious about typical Filipino cusine (maybe this should be mentioned in the recent Filipino cuisine thread).

Max's Chicken

International Orders

[phaelon56]

Yeasr ago we had a few places locally, all small operations, that went under the name "Broaster Hut". Their claim to fame was "broasted"chicken and I'll be damned if I know what it is but it seemed to be a specific appliance that was used to cook it. It was crispy but not greasy and so well cooked that you could actually eat most of the smaller bones (I'm a true carnivore and at that age I actually did eat the bones!). All of them are gone now. On occasion I see grocery store pre-fried chicken that's in the same case as the take-out rotisserie chickens - it looks much like broasted chicken but is oily and sometimes dry. The true broasted product was never dry or oily and always crispy. I think there was some sort of pressure cooking process involved.

Does anyone else remember this chicken?

These days my favorite chicken is Peruvian style marinated and grilled but I can't get it where I live now. The rotisserie chicken from my local Dominican restaurant is a darn good substitute.

[herbacidal]

Yea, I liked Roy Rogers a lot for their chicken too.

Haven't been to one in a while.

There's still some at the rest stops off the Parkway on the way to NYC, I think.

Actually I like Crown Fried Chicken myself, which is a semi-chain in the Philly area, although I think it's in North Jersey as well, and I don't doubt in some of the poorer areas of NYC.

[Holly Moore]

Herb beat me to it. Crown Fried Chicken is the closed to the fried chicken you'd find down home, down South.

My other favorite is Popeye's. My way. Peeling the breaded skin and the top layer of the meat off the thighs and slipping it between biscuit halves. Fine dining.